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University of Lynchburg

Lynchburg, VA 24501
Virginia Northeast
Private Small Developing team
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Dr. Todd Olsen

Dr. Todd Olsen took over the Lynchburg women's soccer program ahead of the 1994 season and in the time since has built a perennial conference and regional powerhouse and a consistent NCAA postseason tournament participant, capping it off with a national title in 2014.


Olsen led the 2014 Hornets to a 27-0-1 record, tying for the most wins in Division III history en route to the national championship. He was named ODAC, state, regional, and national coach of the year for his efforts. His team produced three All-Americans in the 2014 campaign, while sitting atop the national leaders in defense and scoring the entire season.


Since his arrival, the Hornets have posted 28 winning campaigns and have advanced to the NCAA tournament 21 times. In 2000, Olsen led his team to the school’s first ever NCAA tournament win for either men or women. Since 2000, his squads have been to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament (2009, 2014), the Elite 8 four times, and the Sweet 16 seven times. Under Olsen’s leadership, his teams have won 482 matches. Also during his tenure, the squad has produced 91 all-region, 107 all-state, 195 All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference, five Academic All-Americans, and 23 NCAA All-Americans.


In 2022, the Hornets won their 17th ODAC championship and made the program's 21st appearance in the NCAA tournament. Haleigh Casey was crowned an All-American for her perfroamnce on a Lyncburg defense that only allowed 0.36 goals per match. Lynchburg has 16 shutouts in 2022 which was the third-best shutout percentage in Division III at .727. The Hornets also put seven players on all-conference teams, two on all-state teams, and three on all-region teams.


A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Olsen received his bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education in 1985 from Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pa., where he was a two-time Academic All-America selection. After graduation, Olsen traveled to England and attended Loughborough University, earning his master’s degree in 1987 after completing a comprehensive soccer coaching regimen. In 1992, Olsen rounded out his academic career at the University of Pittsburgh where he earned a master’s degree in public health and a Ph.D. in epidemiology.


Aside from on-the-field coaching and classroom teaching, Olsen is actively involved with service and study abroad projects both locally and globally. He has taken the women’s soccer team on soccer/service trips to Argentina and Costa Rica. In addition, he has partnered with Sports Outreach Institute and serves in a volunteer role as the community public health epidemiologist. He has traveled to African nations multiple times in this role, where he is able to utilize his unique background as soccer coach and epidemiologist. He has developed and implemented community health workshops and programs on community public health issues in Kenya and Uganda. His work has helped serve some of the world’s poorest people with these training sessions.


In 2012, Olsen was inducted into the Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame, which honors his philanthropic and coaching achievements. In the fall of 2012, he was inducted into the Slippery Rock University Athletic Hall of Fame.

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Natalie Deacon

Natalie Deacon, a native of West Chester, Pa., joined Lynchburg's coaching staff in 2017 following a four-year playing career under the leadership of head coach Dr. Todd Olsen. During her time on staff, the Hornets have claimed three Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships in 2017, 2018 and 2022 and made four NCAA Tournament appearances in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022. She helped the Hornets reach the Round of 16 in 2017 and the Elite 8 in 2018.


Throughout Deacon’s playing career, spanning from 2013-16, the Hornets posted an 84-8-6 record and won three Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships. Lynchburg reached four NCAA tournaments appearances and won the Division III national championship in 2014. A two-year captain, Deacon was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, three-time All-ODAC selection, and the 2016 women’s soccer ODAC/Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete of the Year.


Immediately following her time on the pitch, Deacon transitioned to the track in 2017, where she became a three-time NCAA All-American, twice in the indoor 1-mile and once in the outdoor 1500m, as well as a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American. Deacon helped lead the Hornets to the 2018 ODAC outdoor track & field championship.


On four separate occasions, Deacon has traveled to Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda to serve alongside Coach Olsen with various nonprofit organizations. She assisted Coach Olsen in implementing the Women of Worth long-term project, which strives to empower young women using the tools of soccer and education.


Deacon holds her Advanced National Diploma from United Soccer Coaches, and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. She is a graduate of the NCAA Women Coaches Academy - Class 46, and served as the head girls’ soccer coach at Brookville High School in Lynchburg from 2019-2021.


Deacon graduated from Lynchburg in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology and a minor in coaching. In 2019, she completed her master's degree in Lynchburg's nonprofit leadership studies program.

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Sophie Walsh

Sophie Walsh joined Lynchburg’s coaching staff in 2023 following a four-year playing career under the leadership of head coach Dr. Todd Olsen.


The Raleigh, NC. native started all 22 games of her senior campaign to lead the Hornets to the 2022 ODAC title. She earned a spot on the ODAC All-Tournament team, as well as All-ODAC honors on the season. Walsh contributed heavily to the defensive line and central midfield over the course of her career, leading the program to two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021 and 2022.


Walsh graduated from Lynchburg in 2023 with a bachelors in Exercise Physiology and a psychology minor. She is currently pursuing her masters of Public Health degree.

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Lindsey Grady

Lindsey Grady joined Lynchburg’s coaching staff in 2023 following a four-year playing career under the leadership of head coach Dr. Todd Olsen.


A two-year captain, Grady helped lead the team to the 2022 ODAC Title and two consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021 and 2022. She contributed heavily to the forward line and central midfield over the course of her playing career from 2019 to 2022. Grady garnered College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors in her senior campaign.


Raised in a military family, Grady has lived in six different states over the course of her life. Her four years in Lynchburg mark the longest she has consecutively resided in one place.


Grady graduated from Lynchburg in 2023 with a bachelor's degree of Communications Public Relations and minors in Leadership Studies, Marketing and Crisis Communications. She is currently pursuing her masters in Nonprofit Leadership.

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Caitlin Mertens

Caitlin Mertens rejoined her alma mater's women's soccer program as a graduate assistant in the summer of 2020.


One of the most prolific scorers in program history, Mertens won D3soccer.com's national forward of the year and Old Dominion Athletic Conference player of the year honors in her senior season after helping the Hornets to the NCAA Division III tournament quarterfinals. She scored 29 goals that season, second-most in Lynchburg's storied program history, and was a second-team All-American and first-team All-South Atlantic Region honoree.


The Succasunna, N.J. native earned three All-ODAC and All-State accolades in her career and was named to the ODAC All-Tournament Team twice. Her 63 career goals rank fourth on Lynchburg's all-time leaderboard, and her 147 points rank fifth.


She spent the 2019-20 year in Richmond working as an intern for Fit4Kids, a nonprofit that works on nutrition and physical fitness skills with at-risk youth, and as a medical scribe with OrthoVirginia.


Mertens graduated from Lynchburg in 2019 with a degree in health promotion and is currently pursuing her master's degree in public health.

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Chris Yeager

Chris Yeager has brought the Hornet men's soccer program to a nearly unmatched level in both the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and nationally after coming to the Hill City in the fall of 2002.


In that time, Yeager's Lynchburg squads have collected eight ODAC championships and seven NCAA Division III tournament appearances, most recently in the fall of 2021. Six Hornets have garnered All-America honors under Yeager's tutelage, and 43 players landed all-region nods for the six-time ODAC coach of the year.


The Hornets and Yeager won back-to-back ODAC trophies in 2020 and 2021. Lynchburg’s 18th conference title in 2021 came off the boot of Luke Mega, a two-time All-American in 2021 and 2022.


Yeager mentored 10 All-Region players, 11 All-State and 22 All-ODAC players from 2013-16 and collected ODAC Coach of the Year honors in 2016 after a spectacular season which saw the Hornets reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The 2016 campaign featured a team which recorded the most wins in a season in program history and registered the 5th most points in a season.


The 2010 season was perhaps the finest for any Lynchburg team. Yeager led Lynchburg to the NCAA Division III tournament title match, falling just short from grabbing the school's first-ever national title in overtime. The ODAC, state and regional coach of the year, Yeager was honored in January as the Division III National Men's Coach of the Year, the first time an Lynchburg athletics coach has earned those accolades. His Hornets finished 20-5-1 and won their second-straight ODAC title. Lynchburg eliminated the #1, #2, #6 and #12th-ranked teams in the nation during the storybook NCAA Tournament run.


Between 2002-04, he watched the Hornets improve in each season, and was rewarded in 2004 by earning co-ODAC Coach of the Year honors. The Hornets won four more games in 2003 than they had the season before, and in 2004 finished 10-8-2 and advanced to the ODAC Tournament Finals for the first time in the 16-year-history of the tournament.


In 2006, The Hornets saw their best season for 20 years, posting 14 wins and winning the ODAC Championship. Lynchburg also advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1982. The 2009 season proved to be one of the best years ever for the Hornets. Lynchburg captured its league-leading 12th ODAC Championship, posting a school-record 17 victories, and Lynchburg recorded the team's first ever NCAA Tournament win, a 3-0 defeat of Catholic University.


Yeager served as an assistant coach at ODAC rival Virginia Wesleyan from 1995-1999. During his time at VWC, the Marlins compiled a 77-21-5 overall record, won three ODAC championships and appeared in the NCAA Division III National Tournament four times.


Yeager earned his bachelor's degree from VWC where he was a four-year letter winner in soccer. He was voted the Blue Marlins' Rookie of the Year in 1990, top Defender in 1992, and Most Valuable Player in 1993. Also in 1993, he was named VWC's Best Male Athlete. In addition, Yeager started all 85 games during his collegiate career and was named to the NCAA Division III All-South Atlantic Region team in both 1992 and 1993. He holds a USSF 'B' and Advanced National license.


Yeager resides in Lynchburg with his wife, Shannon; three daughters, Bailey, Kailyn, and Grayson; and son, Keegan. He received his master's in sport management from Old Dominion University.

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Josh Hinkle

Josh Hinkle moved from the playing field to the Lynchburg sideline in 2015 after an outstanding four-year career as a Hornet. In that time, Lynchburg has captured four Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships, reached four NCAA Division III tournaments, and seen four players earn All-America honors.


As a player, the defender had a dominant senior season to lead Lynchburg to the ODAC title, and earned 2014 All-South Atlantic Region, All-State and All-ODAC First Team honors. Hinkle was a three-time all-conference honoree.


More recently, Hinkle served as an intern at the Central Virginia United Soccer Club as well as coaching the junior varsity team at Jefferson Forest High School. He has coached the E.C. Glass High School JV boys the past two seasons and also worked at several camps in the summer months.


He graduated in the spring of 2015 with a degree in sport management and a coaching minor.

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Philani Mlotshwa

Philani Mlotshwa joined the Lynchburg men's soccer coaching staff as a graduate assistant prior to the 2022 season.


The former Roanoke College standout tallied six goals and seven assists between 2017-20 as a midfielder for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference-rival Maroons. He was a second-team All-ODAC selection in 2018 and helped the Maroons to a 2019 NCAA tournament berth. Mlotshwa won Roanoke's 2021 Michael R. Murphy Award for extraordinary perseverance in accomplishing his academic and athletic goals.


He spent the 2021 season as an assistant on the Roanoke staff and was involved in youth soccer in the Roanoke Valley during his collegiate career.


The Bulawayo, Zimbabwe is pursuing a master's of business administration at Lynchburg.

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